Trux

If anyone can offer some instruction on removing some or all of the t-bar it would be a great help. I have been trying to remove pieces to look for rust and possible leaks. I don't think it is possible to remove it completely just nuts and bolts. I would like to like to strip it down so I can see under and arund everything.

Thanks:hail: :hail: :hail:

maverick544

You could just hack it off, and have a glass top style top like the vettes. That would be cool.

Trux

I don't know. IF I did that I would have to do some major frame reinforcement. I' just like to clean up the t bar alittle.

thank for the advise though

formul8!!

A guy with a early 80's Firebird around my area did that. I don't remember what he used to cover the top back up. It was a "Targa" since the T-Bar had been sawed off.

The car had no frame connectors and the doors would barely close because it was so bent from losing that bar.

Trux

I don't want to do anything perimant I would just like, to take it part and clean it.

Thanks for your ideas though.:hail: :hail: :hail:

87-ZMAN

I wouldn't recommend just taking anything off unless your tops have been leaking, molding is worn or the t-top center support panel is rusted. This is the black piece that the tops slide into and the molding is fitted in. I read that this part is factory sealed and difficult to get off but mine came off with a couple of yanks because it was rusted through. If you haven't had any leaking and don't see any rust from the outside through close inspection, then your t-bar should be fine.

Trux

I have been leaking, but I do not think it is from the t-bar. At close inspection there is rust in the roove on the inside of the weather striping.

If you do not reconmend it I will stop. I try to pry my parts of but was not able to.


thanks for the advise

87-ZMAN

when my tops were leaking I couldn't tell where it was coming from either but it ended up rusting a lot of metal. I haven't been driving the car and was curious to see how much was rusted under the t-top support panel. I'm going to replace the molding anyway so I cut the molding out and took some of the screws out of the support panel that weren't rusted and just yanked it off. The panel is pure rusted but my t-bar is fine. I had already ripped out the headliner so I wasn't worried about that. If your tops are leaking then you could try some silicon around the molding to see if that helps but don't let it be too long before you change it. It's not cheap but the sooner you rip out the old molding you can really see how bad the rust before it gets too bad. I was just suggesting earlier not to take anything apart unless you're going to replace it because it will be a mess. I'll post a picture of my support panel.

Trux

When you say molding, you mean weather striping?

I know the panels with teh screws that you are talking about, I am not able to get teh lose yet.

Thanks for your help:hail: :hail: :hail:

87-ZMAN

yeah, I meant weatherstripping. good luck

Trux

I need all the luck I can get

Trux

I did it, and I hav learned alot.

Always remember how things went together.

If anyone has any question on how to take the T-bar panel down, well part of it, just send me a mesage and I will try my best to give you the best directions, I wish someone gave me some but it is back in =)

Trux

IT leaks more than it did before.

=(

I am just going to mess around with it. I have put silicon gasket stuck pretty much everywhere I could. I think I might get some new weather striping.

IROC212

iTrader: (1)

I did mine a few months ago, rusted and leaking bad. I had to replace all the weatherstripping, the plate that screws in and weld in a patch panel just above the windshield from rust. I had to bead blast the entire roof panel to get the rest of the rust off, and used POR15 to cover the bare metal. In hindsight I really wish I drilled the spotwelds and replaced the parts with ones from a donor car, but I didn't want to sacrafice structural integrity.
I will never wait that long to fix something again, I hate rust!!!

Trux

rust is bad.

There was not a ton of rust on mine, I was happy about that.

irocz8292

Mine came off pretty easy. There are 6 screws. 4 on the visible outside parts that splay out, and 2 under the weatherstripping. Then after that, just yank on it. some come easy, some dont. They are held on by adhesive. If yours is old and rusted like mine the rust destroyed the adhesive and it just came off. Thats probably why mine rained INSIDE the car.

maverick544

so you took off the whole tbar. Cool how did it look like that, I think it would look cool.

Trux

It is not really the whole bar. It is just the top part of it. The buttom part is a welded on piece of the car.

The tope part is how water gets in

it is something fiarly easy to do. Seperating the two pieces of the top part can he hard though.

:lala: :lala: :lala:

Trux

You should need a torch or heat gun, some calking, a hammer, a chizzle or flat screw driver, a wire brush or sand paper, some paint (I used rust proof spray paint) and a pieces of metal or wood that can fit in the t-bar slot.
sure =)
1) Remove the weather striping around the t-bar.
2) There will be two pieces that you can remove. Make them so you can tell front and back, They only go on 1 way (because of the screw positions on the car.
3) Remove the screws, there were 8 on my car. The top part should come off.
4) Use the chizzle or slotted (flat) screw driver and the hammer to undo the spot welds, some may come off easy by pulling the two pieces of metal apart.
5) Use the piece of wood or metal and the hammer to straighten out the weld spots and/or any holes you may have made.
6) Use sand paper or the wire brush to remove as much rust as you can. Remember to get any rusty part on the car's t-bar also. Use the torch or heat gun to get rid of any of the sticky tape left from the weather striping.
7) Paint all parts. Remember the less paint you use the quicker it drys and the faster you can apply another coat.
8) Place teh buttum pieces into its slot, pick it up am place lines of calk under it, as close to the edge as you can get. Do this to the front and rear sections.
9) Screw the bottum plate down.
10) Place lines of calk on the out corners of the plate, connect them on both ends by a line.
11) Screw down the top section.
12) Apply more calking on the front and rear section of the t-bar.
13) After everyhing is dry put weather striping back.
Remember To take your time and allow everything to dry. You may need more tape to connect the weather striping

ramrod85

http://abacus.sj.ipixmedia.com/abc/M...ce5ef2/i-1.JPG Here is a pic of the molding that is on top of the center bar. GM list for a new one is $129.20, but I was able to get one for $86. ClassicIndustries t-top weatherstripping kit has gone up in price a lot. Was $149.95, now $285